Hell, Meet Haunted

by Tee, Marian

  "Hadrian." I couldn't help gasping his name, couldn't help moving wildly because I wanted him deeper inside of me.

  His head left my breast, but before I could moan in protest he had already captured my mouth with his. His tongue thrust hard into my mouth, and my nails dug into his back. I tried to make it last, and I could feel him sweating and straining to do the same. But something had to eventually give, and when it did...

  A powerful shudder rocked his body just as I gasped against his mouth.

  Oh, when it did...

  "Saoirse."

  It was a wild, wet, beautiful mess.

  Chapter Seven

  DEAR DIARY,

  You know one of the few things I miss about being alive? 911. I really missed the sense of security it gave me, knowing that I had the authorities on speed dial. But when you're dead? It's every ghost to himself.

  HADRIAN AND I WERE in his bed. Had been so for hours, since what happened in his living room only turned out to be a prelude. He had also been a little rougher and more possessive than usual in his lovemaking, but I didn't mind. He could do whatever he wanted to me, and I'd bet my ghostly life he wasn't even capable of harming a single hair on my head.

  "Saoirse..."

  I rolled from my side of the bed and caught a glimpse of his lips twitching as I purposefully landed myself in between his legs. I planted my elbows on his perfect-looking abs and propped my face on my hands before looking up at him. "What is it, milord?"

  A crooked smile unfurled over his lips. "Milord?"

  "You look like one."

  "A lord?"

  "My lord...and my boyfriend."

  The smile turned into a grin, and I felt crazy pleased at the sight of it. There was something about Hadrian's smiles and grins that made me think it really had been a while since he last enjoyed his time with a woman. Which was weird, considering he had said he was only recently divorced.

  "Saoirse..."

  I felt his fingers threading lazily through my hair as he murmured my name, and it felt so good that my arms folded down so I could rest my head against his flat stomach.

  "Am I really that?" he murmured.

  "What?"

  "Your lord and your boyfriend."

  I lifted my head up to see if he was joking. "Don't tell me you still think you have anything to be jealous about?"

  His lips tightened.

  "Hadrian." I rose to my knees in an instant. "Seriously?"

  "Why did you want to see your ex?" he asked tautly.

  I straddled his lap and cupped his handsome, chiseled face. "I wanted to be sure he wasn't my unfinished business...milord." I dropped a quick, teasing kiss on his lips, or at least that was my plan, but then his fingers gripped my hair, and well, Hadrian changed the kiss into something else.

  When he finally lifted his head, I could only touch my lips, which felt swollen and tingly at the same time.

  "He wasn't your unfinished business."

  It was my first time to hear Hadrian speak with such arrogance, and I had to fight back a smile as I said obediently, "No. He wasn't." But because my ex was out, and my parents were already in the Isle of the Blessed, it did beg the question: who else was left in this world to keep me from moving on?

  BREAKFAST THE NEXT day was sweet and fun...until Hadrian - who was, you know, my boyfriend - told me he had to head up to Mt. Olympus, and that he wouldn't be able to take me with him.

  "No ghost zone?

  "More like members only," Hadrian clarified.

  "And you're one of those members?"

  "I told you, didn't I? I'm the one out of ten type."

  I coughed 'show off' under my breath, expecting to make him smile, but he only continued to look at me. That's when I realized it was concern turning his silvery gaze into a darker shade of gray, and I quickly plunked myself down on his lap so I could shower his face with kisses. "There's no need to worry about me, okay?"

  But Hadrian still looked far from convinced. "You remember how to use the coin?"

  "Aim for the eye."

  "And this." Hadrian took my wrist and tapped the bracelet he gave me. "Remember what it's for?"

  "Access to ghosts-free zones."

  "I thought I could give you a list of places—-"

  I shook my head when I realized what he was getting at. "I don't want to live my life in a cage."

  Hadrian frowned. "When I'm in Mt. Olympus, I might not be able to sense you're in danger."

  "It's fine."

  "I'd have asked someone to look after you if—-"

  "They could see me," I finished ruefully, "but they can't, so we need to just get rid of the training wheels, and let me do this on my own. Okay?"

  "You're sure?"

  "I'm going to be fine." And to prove this to both of us, I insisted on accompanying him all the way to the basement and waved Hadrian off like a good little girlfriend as he drove away. Big girl now, Saoirse. I watched his car speed up the ramp before turning around the corner. Big. Girl. Now. But before I could even turn around, I already knew...

  "Saoirse."

  My fingers curled into fists as I forced myself to stay still. I waited for it to come closer and closer...and then I turned around and slammed the coin...on the ghost's forehead. Shit. I hurriedly moved the coin down even as my skin crawled at the thought of having to touch another ghost. I finally got the coin covering his eye—-

  The ghost screamed as ropes of black water came out of nowhere to twine around his body, and the ghost screamed again when it started tightening. It was the same ghost from Jason's building, and the realization had me trembling even as I forced myself to look into his too-white eyes. "Who are you?"

  "C-Caleb. Please. Let go—-"

  "Tell me why you've been following me," I demanded shakily.

  "Edith!"

  I paled.

  "I know...Edith!"

  Oh shit. If he knew Edith...then had I just used the coin on someone innocent? Maybe someone who was another victim of MS? Panicking at the thought, I yelled out 'stop' in hopes that the ropes did voice command, and what do you know?

  It actually worked!

  The watery ropes disappeared, and I saw Caleb's body twitched and jerked...just before vanishing into thin air.

  "Caleb?" I called out nervously, but only silence answered me back. Shit. I had never thought I could scare off another ghost, but apparently, miracles still happened even in the afterlife.

  "AND THAT WAS IT." HADRIAN and I were in the kitchen, and I had just finished recounting my story while he was taking a couple of containers out from a paper bag. He had brought takeout, and whatever it was, it smelled quite good.

  "I never got to ask him anything, but I'm checking Edith's social media now, and there is a Caleb in her life." I turned the laptop around to show Hadrian the photos that showed Caleb and Edith together.

  "And you're certain it's the same man?"

  "Exactly identical except for the eyes," I confirmed.

  "And you think he left because you scared him off?"

  "Either that...or maybe he sensed your presence? He was acting rather oddly before he disappeared. His body was twitching violently, like someone with an allergy...or maybe he was just afraid. I mean, you did say most ghosts tend to avoid you."

  "They don't tend to avoid me," Hadrian corrected mildly as he handed me my plate of lamb chops. "All ghosts actively avoid me, or at least everyone does except you."

  "Superghost," I reminded him sweetly as I passed him the steak sauce.

  But Hadrian acted like he hadn't heard me say anything. "What else have you found out about him?"

  "He's reported missing by his parents," I added unhappily, "even days before Edith's death."

  "You feel bad for his parents," Hadrian guessed.

  "We both know he's dead, and it doesn't seem right to let them keep hoping."

  "I'll forward what you've learned to CSI," he promised. "If they find Caleb's body, then his parents will be notified."
/>   "Speaking of CSI..." I looked at him questioningly. "How did your visit go? Any luck in finding the pink leather-bound?"

  Hadrian's lips tightened. "CSI had the photo of the book blown up, and its spine says Alice in Wonderland and 1862 embossed under it."

  "So?"

  "The actual title of the book is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It was also written in 1865, not 1862."

  "Oh."

  "It explains why all the booksellers CSI had contacted weren't able to provide any information about the book. The agency still has agents working on tracking it down, but right now it's low priority, and they've resumed search for any other possible vehicle."

  A part of me had imagined solving this case would be a wham-bam, thank-you-ma'am kind of thing, but obviously not. And I should've expected that. Our missing subject wouldn't have been able to escape Tartarus if he or she wasn't an expert at hiding evidence.

  Hadrian and I had already gone to bed, and I was feeling the urge to yawn for the first time in my ghostly life when I remembered his visit to Mt. Olympus. "You never mentioned how your visit there went. Is it because it's top secret or..."

  "I went there to ask the Moirai about you."

  "Moirai?"

  "The Fates."

  I perked up. "I know them from—-"

  He shot me a warning look.

  "This movie I saw when I was a kid," I said instead. "What did the, um, Moirai say? Anything good?" I saw Hadrian's jaw clench and heard myself say, "That's not good." And when he only looked at me, I pushed myself up and clutched the covers to my chest. "It's that bad?"

  "It...depends."

  "It isn't like you to beat around the bush," I pointed out uneasily, "so it can't be good."

  "How honest do you want me to be?" he asked finally.

  "Don't-leave-anything-out kind of honest."

  "Alright." And before I could hold my breath, he had already said it. "I'm your unfinished business."

  Chapter Eight

  DEAR DIARY,

  Remember my last entry and I told you I'd, um, try to have my own phone? Yeah, well, didn't work. Apparently, anything that I can't wear...don't go invisible with me. Sucks, right?

  HADRIAN HAD ME AGAINST the shower's glass enclosure, and my legs were locked around his waist. Things were happening fast and furious, and so wonderfully good that even though we wanted it to last, it was just impossible. Heat consumed us, and when my body finally reached breaking point, I could only moan against his lips, and Hadrian thrust his tongue deep into my mouth as his manhood drove inside of me one last time.

  It was the morning after Hadrian's fated revelation, and if this seemed like we were celebrating, well...not quite. Hadrian had wanted us to talk some more about it, but I had chickened out because I just wasn't ready yet. Instead, I had told him we could talk about it after we got his missing subject back into Tartarus. And when that happened, well, I was hoping I'd know by then what I really wanted.

  After our interlude at the shower, Hadrian had another gift waiting for me, and this time it was the whole shebang: denim jacket, frilly blouse and a floral skirt to match, and the most gorgeous pair of silk underwear.

  "This is beautiful."

  "I sense a but."

  "But should I be worried you have wonderful taste in women's clothes?"

  Hadrian smirked. "You tell me."

  I thought about it for a few moments, and then I said decisively, "Nope. Any woman stupid enough to hit on my man, I'd just haunt her out of the picture." My gaze narrowed at him. "And you won't do anything to stop me, right?"

  "Of course."

  Both of us made breakfast afterwards, and I tried my best not to think of how it was almost like we were newlyweds. Because we weren't. We couldn't be. Newlyweds were between couples of the same state, and Hadrian and I? Only one of us was breathing, and that was what made this whole unfinished business terribly complicated.

  "I need to visit CSI today," Hadrian said while we were having coffee.

  "I think I'll stay here and wait for Caleb to show up—-"

  Hadrian muttered an expletive under his breath. "I forgot to get you another coin."

  "I don't need it anymore," I said quickly. "Caleb doesn't scare me—-"

  "That's great to hear, but Caleb isn't the only other ghost in the world," Hadrian pointed out flatly. "What happens if you see something else?"

  "I'll...just figure it out as I go."

  "Saoirse."

  "You can't keep babysitting me. You know it's not feasible, not to mention stupid, considering what I'm afraid of." When he still looked far from convinced, I left my seat to stand between his legs as I clasped my hands behind his neck. Looking down at him, I said firmly, "I'm going to be fine."

  "I wish I could give you a phone," Hadrian muttered as he pulled me down to his lap.

  "But you can't, since using it outside this room will cause mass hysteria."

  "I'll ask Hephaestus about this."

  "Okay." Did I even want to try spelling that? Or should I just repeat it to Siri and have her Google the name instead?

  "If you get in trouble again, there is one way for you to contact me. Go to my study, and you'll find a landline. Use it to dial 911—-"

  "Seriously?"

  His gaze simply bored through me.

  "Okay, okay, I got it. 911." Since it was probably a magical counterpart, I couldn't help wondering who I'd end up talking to.

  Hadrian took my hands and pressed his lips to them one after another. "Just...be safe. Alright?"

  "I promise." And at that time, I meant it.

  AFTER WATCHING HADRIAN drive out of the basement parking, I deliberately lingered around, hoping Caleb would show up. But he didn't, and so I decided to do my usual and hang out at the lobby. It was noisy and crowded as always, since most residents liked hanging out here as well. The building offered free Internet in their public spaces, and it was really, really fast.

  Time ticked by, and I found myself thinking about how my life had changed so much in the past few days. One moment I was dead and single, next thing I knew I was still dead...but with a plus one this time.

  Could it really work between us? And if we did give it a try, would we be the first couple ever that was...interracial? Inter-species? Inter-something? Shit. Maybe I should just have Google work this out, too. Maybe there were other ghosts like me, and maybe they were able to share their problems online. It was possible...wasn't it?

  I made my way to the elevator, my mind already busy making a list of keywords to type. The elevator doors slid close just as I glanced up, and that was when I realized too late I was alone.

  Shit, shit, shit.

  The elevator went past the second floor.

  Okay. We're okay.

  Third floor.

  There's no need to panic.

  Fourth.

  Living people will come in anytime, and I won't be alone any longer.

  Fifth.

  Come on, living, breathing people! Don't tell me you're taking the stairs right now?

  Sixth.

  Okay, fine, let's just get this over with.

  Seventh.

  Halfway now. You can do this, Saoirse.

  Eighth.

  Five more to go.

  Ninth floor, and the elevator stopped.

  Huh. That was weird. I hadn't seen the 9/F button light up, but oh well. The elevator doors slid open. A moment later, it slid close, with no one entering. No one living that was, and now I was in deep shiiiiiiiiiiit!

  My facial muscles froze as my dead companion turned to look at me.

  Calm. Stay calm.

  So, you know by now that there are all sorts of ghosts, right? Well, this one that just came in? She was one of the bad guys. The kind that could suck little girls into old TV sets. That kind of bad, and if she knew...

  Relax, Saoirse, relax.

  We were at the eleventh floor now.

  Twelfth.

  Thirteenth.

  I could f
eel her vile gaze following me as I walked past her, and I had to fight against the urge to run. Just keep walking. And feet on the ground. Walk. Don't float.

  But after a few steps, I could feel the vileness growing.

  Shit.

  Could feel it getting nearer.

  Oh, eff it.

  I made a mad dash for it just as she let out a screech, and boy she was fast. Too fast. The next thing I knew, she was already right next to me, and I was horribly and gruesomely reminded once again what it felt like to look into the face of evil.

  "I'M GOING TO..."

  And yes, in case you were wondering, poltergeists weren't the type to speak. They just screeched and screeched, and this one would've probably had my ears fall off if I hadn't managed to dive straight into Hadrian's apartment door. I fell into it and skidded my knees...just as I heard another screech.

  W-what was that?

  I flipped to my back, with a part of me already expecting to have the poltergeist fall on top of me, and I'd have to start fighting for—-

  Oh my God.

  Apparently, the poltergeist had tried following me inside, and now it was my turn to scream as I watched her severed head tumble down to the floor.

  Hadrian, apparently, took home security very, very seriously.

  Chapter Nine

  DEAR DIARY,

  I wish there was a way I could tell living people that while I appreciate their gesture for reporting my social media pages so they're "memorialized"...I also kinda wished they had the means to ask my permission first. It's my account, you know...and now I can't even access it so I can re-read old messages.

  I CALLED 911 USING Hadrian's phone in his study. I couldn't recall exactly what I said, or what the voice in the other end of the line said back, but we must've talked enough since Hadrian was striding back inside the apartment in fifteen minutes.